Mike Green could be perfect fit with Red Wings

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green could be on the trading block after the team signed free agents Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. Green could be a perfect fit with the Detroit Red Wings. (AP FILE PHOTO)

DETROIT >> One teamís movements during free agency could benefit another teamís lack of success in the same department.

When the Washington Capitals made a huge splash on the first day free agents could sign with other teams, they quickly inked defensemen Matt Niskanen (seven years at $5.75 million a season) and Brooks Orpik (five years at $5.5 million a season).

All that did was perhaps pave the way for offensive-minded Mike Green to get dealt.

And an obvious taker would be the Detroit Red Wings.

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With the addition of the two former Pittsburgh Penguin blue liners, the Capitals now have eight defensemen on one-way contracts, which is one more than they likely would want to carry into the season.

Washington also has just 12 forwards signed and has just over $1 million in cap space to come to terms with another.

Green, whoíll turn 29 in October, has just one year left on a deal at just over $6 million and trading him would give the Capitals the flexibility to sign a 13th forward.

Fitting Green under the cap wonít be an issue since the Wings are $9.5 million under the $69 million salary cap for the upcoming season, some of which will need to go to restricted free agents Tomas Tatar and Danny DeKeyser.

Detroit may also need room to fit Daniel Alfredsson and Daniel Cleary, who was promised a possible extension after signing a one-year deal on the first day of training camp last season.

If the Wings are able to obtain Green the most likely candidate of the returning blue liners to be dealt is Jakub Kindl, who canít seem to stay out of Mike Babcockís doghouse.

Kindl has three years left on a deal at $2.4 million a season.

Greenís numbers have dropped off ever since he produced back-to-back 70-plus point seasons his third and fourth years in the league. He was a very respectable combined plus-63 over those two seasons.

Injuries have played a part in those offensive numbers dropping, totaling just 32 goals combined over the last four seasons after notching a career high 31 in the 2008-09 campaign.

His plus/minus has also dipped gotten worse, finishing a combined -19 over the last two seasons.

But Green still has the skills the Wings are desperately in need of on the blue line. Heís still a tremendous skater who can mover the puck, but more importantly he can quarterback the power play.

Another thing the Wings have going for them is the list of teams that could use Green or has enough salary cap space is limited.

Dallas, which is the only other team thatís lacking a right-handed shooting defenseman, and San Jose could also make a pitch for Green, who has a no-trade clause.

The other solution for the Wings could simply be within the organization with Ryan Sproul and Alexey Marchenko, who are both right-handed shots and could push for a job in training camp.

Both finished their first season with the Griffins and both got to play one game with the Wings.

Sproul had 11 goals and 21 assists in 72 games with the Griffins last season, while Marchenko had three goals and 15 assists in 49 games.

Marchenko, who general manager Ken Holland likened to Brad Stuart, was higher than Sproul in the pecking order last season before season-ending ankle surgery.

Niskanan was the most coveted right-handed defenseman on the market, along with Dan Boyle.

Boyle, who turns 38 on July 12, signed a two-year deal with the New York Rangers for $9 million instead of a better deal Detroit had on the table, three years at $12.5 million.

Detroit was in the ballpark with the offer for Niskanan who signed with the Capitals. The Wings offered the 27-year-old defenseman seven years at $38.5 million.

Send comments to chuck.pleiness@macombdaily.com and visit his blog at redwingsfront.wordpress.com